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How Much Should You Pay for SEO?

In today’s world, more and more business and shopping is done online. Statistics put e-commerce sales for 2011 at more than 250 billion dollars. Projections also show that 175 million Americans will be shopping online by 2016. Even if you don’t have an online store, your internet presence is still vital – almost 90% of consumers will use search engines to research a business, service or product before they buy.

It’s obvious then, that a high ranking in search engine results for searches to do with your business or services is something that can benefit your business. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process by which you can get those high rankings. Of course, the decision to look for SEO help is only the start. One of the first questions you will have to answer is how much this help will cost.

SEO BudgetsBudgets for SEO can vary massively, from less than $100 to tens of thousands of dollars. It all depends on what exactly it is that you want to accomplish. A mistake that many businesses make is to set a budget and then see what they can get for their money from different SEO companies. This might seem like a simple way to get started, but it is misunderstanding the purpose and value of SEO. When conducted properly, the money you spend on SEO will come back to you along with more due to its effects in increasing your brand’s visibility, drawing more traffic and so getting you more customers, clients, and sales. You should look at SEO as an investment, not just a simple cost.

When trying to decide how much to spend on SEO, you should speak to SEO companies and see what they think various spends can get you in terms of a return on investment. Spending $500 to get $600 in increased sales will require a smaller payment, but spending $1000 to get $5000 in sales is much more cost effective! Of course, an SEO company can’t promise you a precise figure with a guarantee. That’s why you need to have a long discussion with your chosen SEO company, explain your business and your goals, and evaluate their experience. A company that has worked with a number of businesses will be better able to give you an idea of what the different levels of SEO can do for your business, as they are using their experience to guide them.

Keeping Costs Low

There are ways to keep your SEO budget low while still gaining all the benefits.

If your writing skills are up to scratch you could negotiate a package where you provide the content to your SEO company, which they will then optimize for keywords.

If you’re not a wordsmith, you may still get a discount if you can provide research that will make writing the content easier.

You can also choose to run a test campaign with a company, such as trying to rank highly for searches for just one part of your product range. Should you see success with that campaign you can then choose to expand it for other relevant searches.

You may also be able to get a better deal by choosing an ongoing package rather than a one off project.

If you’re wondering how much SEO will cost you, get in touch with Infintech Designs. The SEO experts at Infintech Designs are always happy to give free quotes for their services. In initial consultations you can talk about your business and what you are looking to achieve with SEO so that a carefully tailored package can be designed for your business and its circumstances.